A STILL FROM BABURAO PAINTERS LOST SILENT FILM 'SAVKARI PASH'
Baburao Painter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Baburao Painter | |
|---|---|
| Born | Baburao Krishnarao Mestry 3 June 1890 Kolhapur, British India |
| Died | 16 January 1954 Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Director, painter, sculptor |
Contents
Life
He was born Baburao Krishnarao Mestry in 1890 in Kolhapur. He taught himself to paint and derives its name "Painter". (hence the name) and sculpt in academic art school style. He and his artist cousin Anandrao Painter between 1910 and 1916 were the leading painters of stage backdrops in Western India doing several famous curtains for Sangeet Natak troupes and also for Gujarati Parsi theatres. They became avid filmgoers following Raja Harishchandra.Baburao and his cousin Anandarao bought a movie projector from the Bombay flea market and proceeded to exhibit films, studying the art of movies all the while. Anandarao was busy with assembling a camera for their maiden venture, and his untimely death at this juncture compelled Baburao to go it alone
They turned to cinema first as exhibitors while trying to assemble their own camera. Anandrao however died in 1916 and Painter and his main disciple V.G. Damle eventually put together a working camera in 1918.
Film career
Baburao was one of the leading stage painter for West Indian theatres during 1910 and 1916. He was also an film enthusiast and founded Maharashtra Film Company in 1919. To enable this Baburao had borrow money from Tanibai Kagolkar, a long-time admirer. Movie acting, especially tamasha's were looked down upon in conservative societies like Kolhapur so the studio itself was an living quarter for quite a few including leading ladies – Gulab Bai (renamed Kamaladevi) and Anusuya Bai (renamed Sushiladevi). Painter got onboard his old colleagues including Damle and S. Fatehlal and later on V. Shantaram, trio who later on left to set up Prabhat Film Company.Baburao's first feature film was Sairandri (1920), which got heavily censored for its graphic depiction of slaying of Keechak by Bhima. However the movie itself got positive critics and commercial acclaim spurring Painter on to take on more ambitious projects. He wrote his own screenplays, and led the three-dimensional space rather than stage-painting in the Indian movie. 1921/22, he published the first Indian films and programs designed to even the movie posters. Publicity was not alien to Painter's many talents – in 1921–22, he distributed programme booklets complete with photographs and film details.
Baburao was a man of many talents – he wrote his own screenplays and he was also the first Indian filmmaker to adopt the method Eisenstein had described as 'stenographic' – he sketched the costumes, movements, and characters. He changed the concept of set designing from painted curtains to solid multi-dimensional lived in spaces, he introduced artificial lighting and understood the importance of publicity. As early as 1921–22 he was the first to issue programme booklets, complete with details of the film and photographs. He also painted himself tasteful, eye-catching posters of his films.
A perfectionist, he insisted upon any number of rehearsals. As Zunzarrao Pawar, a cast member, said '` He would take umpteen rehearsals before actual shooting....but he was very slow in film-making. That was why we used to get annoyed with him sometimes.'`
The advent of sound in 1931 did not excite Painter. However after a few more silent films, the Maharashtra Film Company pulled down its shutters with the advent of sound. Baburao was not particularly keen on the talkies for he believed that they would destroy the visual culture so painfully evolved over the years.
He returned to painting and sculpture, his original vocation barring sporadic ventures like remaking Savkari Pash in sound in 1936, Pratibha (1937), one of his few preserved films which is a good illustration of Painter's control over big sets, lighting and crowd scenes and Lokshahir Ramjoshi (1947) on Shantaram's invitation.
The beautiful posters that Baburao painted for his films prompted the advice of not wasting his talent on dirty walls, that an art gallery was the correct destination! Prophetic words indeed, because later his posters were up at J.J. School of Art, Mumbai and much admired by the principal, Gladstone Solomon.
Filmography
Actor
- Kalyan Khajina (1924)
- Sinhagad (1923) – Emperor Shivaji
Art Director
- Usha (1935/I)
- Usha (1935/II)
Writer
- Sairandhri (1920)
Cinematographer
- Sairandhri (1920): This episode from the Mahabharata dealt with the slaying of Keechak by Bhima (one of the Pandava princes), and the film was based on the play Keechak Wadh by K.P. Khadilkar. The play itself was banned because of the perceived criticism of Lord Curzon. The intense realism of the killing was horrifying to the audience, and the scenes were deleted.
Director
- Surekha Haran (1921): This was the debut film of V. Shantaram
- Bhagwata Bhakta Damaji (1922)
- Damaji (1922)
- Vatsalaharan (1923)
- Sinhagad (1923): Baburao shifted from painted curtains to multi-dimensional sets. Another first – he used artificial lighting to create the effect of fog and of moonlight. The film was based on Hari Narayan Apte's novel Gad Aala Pan Sinha Gela. The protagonist Tanaji was a follower of Shivaji Maratha and died while capturing Kondana Fort.While filming Sinhagad, Baburao fell off a horse, the injury causing a lifelong speech defect. Sinhagad proved so popular that it attracted the Revenue Department's attention to bring about introduction of Entertainment Tax.
- Sati Padmini (1924)
- Shri Krishna Avatar (1924)
- Shahala Shah (1925)
- Rana Hamir (1925)
- Maya Bazaar (1925)
- Savkari Pash (1925): dealt with money lending and the plight of poor farmers. However the audience long fed on mythological fantasy and historical love was just not prepared for so strong a dose of realism and the film did not do well. Baburao returned to costume dramas. The film failed. Baburao Painter returned to the tried-and-true subject-matter.Painter's artistic masterpiece remains Savkari Pash (1925), dealing with money lending, a problem that blighted the lives of countless illiterate, poor farmers. J.H.Wadia on the two versions of Savkari Pash: I faintly remember the silent Savkari Pash...But it was only when I saw the talkie version that I realised what a great creative artist he (Baburao) was. I go into a trance when I recollect the long shot of a dreary hut photographed in low key, highlighted only by the howl of a dog.
- Bhakta Pralhad (1926/I)
- Gaj Gauri (1926)
- Muraliwala (1927)
- Sati Savitri (1927) ... aka Savitri Satyavan (Hindi title)
- Netaji Palkar (1927): Directed by V. Shantaram, the film was about Shivaji
- Karna (1928)
- Keechaka Vadha (1928/I) ... aka Sairandhri (Hindi title) or Valley of the Immortals (English title)
- Baji Prabhu Deshpande (1929)
- Prem Sangam (1931) ... aka When Lovers Unite (English title)
- Lanka (1930) ... aka The Land of Lust (English title)
- Usha (1935): The film (a talkie) was directed by Painter for the film company Shalini Cinetone, Kolhapur.
- Remake of Savkari Pash as a talkie (1936)
- Pratibha (1937)
- Sadhvi Meerabai (1937)
- Rukmini Swayamvar (1946/I)
- Rukmini Swayamvar (1946/II) ... aka The Marriage of Rukmini (English title)
- Matwala Shair Ramjoshi(1947): A highly successful film.
- Lok Shahir Ram Joshi (1947)
- Vishwamitra (1952)
Outdoors lunch break – Film unit in 1926 - ==============================================
-
Baburao Painter
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Vacant Memories
IAnD Exclusive
By Shriram Khadilkar
An artist’s work space is his private lair. In this era of tech gizmos and virtual connect, we take you back in time to film-maker, painter-sculptor, legendary Baburao Painter’s studio in Kolhapur, which was the epitome of comfort and tech-convenience in the early 20th century.
Maharashtrian legend, Shri Baburao Mestri, popularly known as Baburao Painter (named after his exceptional painting skill) is revered with the title of ‘Kalamaharshi’. He was a great film maker, master painter, eminent sculptor and expert designer. Fifty-six years after his death, today, his studio in Kolhapur is well maintained by his family members - well equipped, as it stands, with modern technology and advance amenities. We can say that not a single artist in our country has a studio as equipped as Baburao Painter’s.
Baburao Painter was very much impressed by the studios of some of the European artists of his times. He had dreamed that one day he will have a studio of similar or superior status. And, it was not long before his dream turned in reality. Baburao built his house when he was in his early 50’s; and he did so as per his personal set of specifications. A ground plus two storey structure, the house hosted Baburao’s sculpture studio and a kitchen on the ground floor; family quarters on the first floor and another spacious studio on the second floor.
The general observation in those days was that while working on a huge sized canvas, the artist had to step up on scaffolding, or spread the canvas horizontally on the ground – an option less rampant due to space constraints. To avoid the climbing exercise, Baburao designed the floor of his studio such that he could easily paint the upper portion of the canvas while sitting in his studio on the second floor. And at that time, the rest of the canvas would hang from the ceiling of the first floor, suspended via a pulley in the ceiling of his studio. It was with the help of this pulley, that he could adjust the suspended canvas at his desired height.
There was little that the man did not apply his genius to. Baburao was an expert at carpentry too. He designed his own easel in such a way that he could adjust the height of the canvas without touching it. Applying the right technology was instrumental. He had two clutches crafted - one to lift the canvas vertically upwards; and the other to bring it down. He also designed a special table to store oil colours and brushes with a special provision to house the palate as is. A flap covered the opening and just as one opened the flap, the palate would pop up! And the table was portable too. Its little wheels could take it around the studio at will and ease.
Attention to detail was another marked quality of the man who made great strides in the field of art and culture in the early 20th century. His entire studio had wooden flooring; and there was ample natural light flooding the studio. To maximize the quotient of natural light, he had windows positioned in the north wall and a skylight positioned in the sloping Mangalore-tiled roof. A curtain was strategically placed to blotch out the harsh sunlight, whenever required.
This is the story of early 20th century. Not a single artist of today has designed his equipments like Baburao did. This is the reality of the start of the 21st century.Baburao Painter is one of the great artists who gave Kolhapur the synonym ‘Kalapur’. Baburao painted thousands of his works in this studio. These works may presently be occupying pride of place, decorating the walls of some museums, enriching the collection of art collectors.
But alas! His beautifully maintained studio does not host even a single of his works.==================================================================
Baburao Painter (1890-1954) Back to all Artists
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Born to a family of artists in Kolhapur, Maharastra, Baburao Painter was a self taught artist who excelled in both oil paintings and sculptures, his skill in painting earning him the nickname ‘Painter’. His colour schemes were strongly influenced by the European classical style, lending an air of gentle charm to his works. Gifted with his hands and with no formal training, be it working on a lathe, painting a portrait, sculpting or designing costumes, the setting or décor for a natak mandali, he excelled at them all and was considered a master artist. His excellence in traditional sculpture is evident in the large statue he made of Mahatma Gandhi, installed in Kolhapur.A search for other modes of artistic expression, and the release of Dada Saheb Phalke’s first film Raja Harishchandra in 1913 triggered his interest in films. His career in films started as an assistant to Phalke. Baburao set up the Maharashtra Film Company, in Kolhapur in 1919. It was during the shooting of his film Gad Aala Pan Sinha Gela where he played the role of Shivaji that he fell from a horse and suffered an injury which impaired his speech for life. He retired in 1946 to Kolhapur to paint, living and painting there until his death.====================================================================www.marathimovieworld.com
Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947) BY BABURAO PAINTERThe unforgettable Baburao Painter
16 January 10 | © MMW NewsHe was born as Baburao Krishnarao Mestri in Kolhapur in 1890, but soon derived this name Painter, through his excellence in Painting. Baburao Painter was a leading painter of stage backdrops and worked those days for Sangeet Natak troupes and Gujarathi / Parsi theatre. His passion for films began after the release of ‘Raja Harischandra’, which made him buy a movie projector to turn a movie exhibitor.
In 1919, Baburao Painter with the support of his well wishers set up Maharashtra film Company in Kolhapur. His first film ‘Sairandhri’ based on Mr. Khadilkar’s play ‘Keechak Vadha’ was heavily censored for the scene on slaying of Keechak by Bheema; yet, the film invited both analytical and commercial praise. Baburao Painter, who was an institution in himself, with his multi-talent, seriously worked in all areas of the film from acting, direction, set designing camera besides set and poster designing . He lost his interest in film making after the arrival of Talkie films, as he felt that the visual impact that a silent film created was lost in a talkie film. Therefore, he shut down his own studio in 1931. However, he continued directing the films at the request of his friends till 1953.
Baburao Painter will always be remembered for his creations like ‘Sairandhri’, ‘Savakari Pash’ ‘Kalyan Khajina’, ‘Sinhagad’, ‘Sati Padmini’, ‘Sri Krishna Avatar’, ‘Bhakta Pralhad’ and ‘Netaji Palkar’. He directed his first talkie film ‘Usha’ for Shalini Cinetone, Kolhapur. The others to follow were ‘Rukmini Swayamvar’, remake of ‘Savakari Paash’, ‘Pratibha’, ‘Vishvamitra’ and ‘Mahajan’( 1953). He said good bye to this world on 16th January 1954. MMW pays sincere tributes to this legend from Maharashtra, on the occasion of his death anniversary.
=============================================
The legendary Indian female singer, Hirabai Badodekar in Filmmaker Baburao Painter's silent movie 'Pratibha'.www.timescontent.com
A STILL FROM BABURAO PAINTERS LOST SILENT FILM 'SAVKARI PASH'
A still from Painter’s lost film ‘Savkari Pash’
Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZJh5Fc3hvhXcP06BcrgbEO/Excerpt--Hot-for-nitrate.html?utm_source=copyA still from Painter’s lost film ‘Savkari Pash’
Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZJh5Fc3hvhXcP06BcrgbEO/Excerpt--Hot-for-nitrate.html?utm_source=copy
A still from Painter’s lost film ‘Savkari Pash’
Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZJh5Fc3hvhXcP06BcrgbEO/Excerpt--Hot-for-nitrate.html?utm_source=copy
A master at sculpting, painting and woodwork - Baburao Mistry was called Baburao Painter by his legion of admirers! The lack of a complete formal education was inconsequential in the face of his awesome creativity. World War I had begun, but the magic of Phalke's Raja Harishchandra endured - Baburao and his cousin Anandarao bought a movie projector from the Bombay flea market and proceeded to exhibit films, studying the art of movies all the while. Anandarao was busy with assembling a camera for their maiden venture, and his untimely death at this juncture compelled Baburao to go it alone. In 1919 - Maharashtra Film Company set up. Baburao had borrowed from Tanibai Kagolkar, a long-time admirer, for the purpose and he also created his own movie camera. The studio itself had a family feel and many artistes lived there, in particular, his leading ladies - Gulab Bai (renamed Kamaladevi) and Anusuya Bai (renamed Sushiladevi). Baburao wrote the screenplays for his films and very systematically at that! He was also the first film - maker to adopt the method Einstein had described as 'stenographic' - he sketched the costumes, movements, and characters. This was a failproof way to put thoughts on paper. [This was the method Satyajit Ray adopted for Pather Panchali - there was no written script, just a book full of sketches. This 'script' is with Cinematheque Francaise, Paris.] A perfectionist, he insisted upon any number of rehearsals. As Zunzarrao Pawar, a cast member, said He would take umpteen rehearsals before actual shooting....but he was very slow in film-making. That was why we used to get annoyed with him sometimes. In 1920 - Sairandhri. This episode from the Mahabharata dealt with the slaying of Keechak by Bhima (one of the Pandava princes), and the film was based on the play Keechak Wadh by K.P. Khadilkar. [The play itself was banned because of the perceived criticism of Lord Curzon.] The intense realism of the killing was horrifying to the audience, and the scenes were deleted. At the time, censor boards had been set up! In 1921 - Surekha Haran. This was the debut film of V. Shantaram, one of the giants of Indian cinema. He played loard Krishna in the film. Publicity was not alien to Painter's many talents - in 1921-22, he distributed programme booklets complete with photographs and film details. In 1923 - Sinhagad. In 1924 - Kalyan Khajina. Together, Sinhagad and Kalyan Khajina won a medal at the Wembley Exhibition, London. One newspaper, Daily Express, described the films as full of strangely wistful beauty, and acted with extraordinary grace. In 1925 - - Shahala Shah.
- Rana Hamir.
- Savkari Pash. Savkari Pash dealt with moneylending and the plight of poor farmers. The unrelenting authenticity of the film did not appeal to an audience given to mythological extravaganzas. The film failed. Baburao Painter returned to the tried-and-true subject-matter. In 1927 - Netaji Palkar. Directed by V. Shantaram, the film was about Shivaji Maratha (a revered warrior-ruler who fought the Mughal emperors). In 1928 - Karna. The film was inspired by the MGM masterpiece Ben Hur. The advent of sound in 1931 did not excite Painter. Rather, he believed that visual excellence would be destroyed, and closed down Maharashtra Film Company. In 1935 - Usha. The film (a talkie) was directed by Painter for the film company Shalini Cinetone, Kolhapur. In 1936 - remake of Savkari Pash (as a talkie). In 1937 - Pratibha. In 1947 - Ramjoshi. A highly successful film.
Sinhagad - a landmark film. For one, Baburao shifted from painted curtains to multi-dimensional sets. Another first - he used artificial lighting to create the effect of fog and of moonlight. Also, the film was so very successful that the Revenue Department introduced Entertainment Tax with an eye to the film's box-office returns! The film was based on Hari Narayan Apte's novel Gad Aala Pan Sinha Gela. The protagonist Tanaji. was a follower of Shivaji Maratha and died while capturing Kondana Fort. While filming Sinhagad, Baburao fell off a horse, the injury causing a lifelong speech defect.
The beautiful posters that Baburao painted for his films prompted the advice of not wasting his talent on dirty walls, that an art gallery was the correct destination! Prophetic words indeed, because later his posters were up at J.J. School of Art, Bombay and much admired by the principal, Gladstone Solomon.
J.H.Wadia on the two versions of Savkari Pash : I faintly remember the silent Savkari Pash...But it was only when I saw the talkie version that I realized what a great creative artist he (Baburao) was. I go into a trance when I recollect the long shot of a dreary hut photographed in low key, highlighted only by the howl of a dog.
=============================================
Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947) BY BABURAO PAINTER
Lok Shahir Ram Joshi (1947) - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0249750/Rating: 7.8/10 - 6 votesDirected by Baburao Painter, Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram. With Jayaram Shiledar, Hansa Wadkar.Lok Shahir Ram Joshi (1947) - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0249750/combinedDirected by Baburao Painter, Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram. With Jayaram Shiledar, Hansa Wadkar. Visit IMDb for Photos, Showtimes, Cast, Crew, Reviews,...
Directors:
Cast
Jayaram Shiledar ... Ramjoshi Hansa Wadkar ... Baya
Directed by
Baburao Painter Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram (as V. Shantaram)
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
123 minCountry:
Language:
===============================================Color:
cinegems.in
Rare magazine publicity posters of a 1952 mythological kind of movie 'Vishwamitra' starring Sapru, Sheela Naik, Vivek, etc. The film was directed by Baburao
Hindi Film Songs - Vishwamitra (1952) | MySwar
myswar.com/album/vishwamitra-1952Vishwamitra (1952) by B. Laxman - Complete information including lyricist, singers and other credits, ratings and user and critic reviews, complete songs listing, ...Hindi Film Song - Kamdhenu Mata Jai (Vishwamitra, 1952 ...
myswar.com/song_details/vishwamitra-1952-kamdhenu-mata-jai-1Kamdhenu Mata Jai (Vishwamitra, 1952) - Music director, lyricist, singer and other credits, user ratings and reviews, similar songs, awards information and trivia.Showcards of Film Vishwamitra directed by Baburao Painter ...
Artist Patil Cine Publicity
Showcard Vishwamitra.1952; India
Banner Basvant Productions; Producer Basvant Rao Pawar; Presenter
Director Baburao Painter
Select Cast Sapru, Sheela Naik & Vivek
osianama.com/cine-shw-1085373Showcard Vishwamitra.1952; India. Banner Basvant Productions; Producer Basvant Rao Pawar; Presenter. Director Baburao Painter. Select Cast Sapru, Sheela ...Vishwamitra (1952) - Photo Gallery - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0158343/mediaindexVishwamitra (1952) on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
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The original video of this song is available from youtube.
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No Lyrics are available right now. The lyrics will be added in due course.
Lyrics of this song is also available in Hindi.
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Vishwamitra (1952)Singer: Asha Bhosle, Mohantara Ajinkya, Sudhir Phadke Lyricist: Manohar Khanna Music Director: B Laxman External Links: Vishwamitra at IMDB
Excerpt | Hot for nitrate - Livemint
Excerpt | Hot for
nitrate
A revised edition chronicles how chance and a benevolent cobra helped
rediscover the films of a silent cinema pioneer
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Light of Asia—Indian Silent Cinema, 1912-1934: Edited by Suresh Chabria,
Niyogi Books, 340 pages, Rs 695
One of the few sources of information on Indian silent cinema has been
out of circulation for years, much like the films that it covers.
Commissioned in 1994 to complement the Pordenone Silent Film Festival,
Light of Asia: Indian Silent Cinema, 1912-1934 has been missing from
bookshelves for several years. A revised and updated edition of the
insightful and valuable anthology of essays and notes, edited by former
National Film Archive of India (NFAI) director Suresh Chabria, is
finally out. It includes an updated bibliography based on new research
and recent discoveries, including the surviving prints of films
considered to have been lost. Chabria, who served as NFAI director from
1992-98, writes about one such discovery. Edited excerpts from the
chapter The Cobra’s Hoard, about the hunt for three films by silent
pioneer Baburao Painter:
A business family in Kolhapur named Vankudre was known to possess a
large amount of nitrate material created by the famed artist and film
pioneer Baburao Painter (1890-1954). Kolhapur is a town which is 230
kilometres from Pune, where many film pioneers of western India began
their careers.
photo
A still from Painter’s lost film ‘Savkari Pash’
Baburao Painter produced and directed numerous mythological and
historical films in the 1920s and 1930s. Various histories of Indian
cinema praise Painter’s multifaceted career as a scenic backdrop
painter, a keen technical innovator, and as the prime mover of what is
referred to as the Kolhapur school of filmmaking. He influenced another
well-known pioneer, Bhalji Pendharkar, and all the founders of the
Prabhat Film Company—one of the most important institutions of Indian
film history. Particularly talked about to this day is his 1925 film
Savkari Pash (aka Indian Shylock), which was said to be an innovative
realist film that tackled contemporary social issues at a time when
Indian film production mostly focused on mythology and was
fantasy-oriented. However, all that was known to have survived of
Painter’s work as a filmmaker comprised a few stills from his silent
films and copies of three of his sound films. Thus, the works on which
his legend rested—the films produced in the 1920s for his Maharashtra
Film Company—were considered lost, unless our promising Kolhapur lead
translated to anything of value. My predecessor at the NFAI—PK Nair—had
explored this possibility but for various reasons the negotiations had
failed.
It was in the hope that some of these films might still be found that I
got in touch with Pune-based film critic and memorabilia collector
Shashikant Kinikar and Anant Vishnu Damle. The latter had been chiefly
responsible for safeguarding the legacy of the Prabhat Film Company,
which was cofounded by his father in Kolhapur in Painter’s heyday,
before the studios were moved to Pune in 1933. With their help, contact
was once again established with the Vankudre family.
The Vankudres had the material for a very good reason. In the early
1930s their grandfather, Dhandiram Gopal Vankudre, a dealer of household
utensils, had attempted to diversify the traditional family business by
launching a film distribution company that was to be followed by
setting up a film production firm. Even as sound films began to appear
on Indian screens, he bought the distribution rights and existing prints
of Painter’s silent films for re-issue, and at the same time initiated
steps to produce talkie films under his own banner, Samrat Cinetone.
It was during the monsoon that we set out, reasoning that the cool
cloudy weather would be the most favourable for returning safely with
the nitrate material.
The four Vankudre brothers, the third generation of the family, were
cordial to Damle and me, offering us hot sweet tea and agreeing on a
single point—that this material should be shifted immediately. Finally,
they led us to the material itself, towards the back of the shop where
under a dark wooden staircase sat a row of black painted tin trunks.
As we approached someone shouted, “Wait!” and then, “No, it has left!”.
An old shop-hand cut in, “I saw it returning to its hole this morning.” A
sigh of relief went up, and the mystery was soon explained. A cobra had
apparently taken up residence among the trunks, and could occasionally
be seen slithering over them before returning to its hole beneath the
staircase. On this particular day it had slid away. This much is fact.
The myth follows.
photo
A poster of one of Baburao Painter’s films
Folk mythology has it that the cobra guards treasures, ready to strike
any intruder, but gently accedes to the surrender of its precious hoard
when the true claimant comes along, full of veneration and hope.
In this case it was, undoubtedly, the spirit of film archiving. All
present were suitably impressed by our credentials, even, I presume, the
magnanimous cobra, for it had long guarded the trunks, preventing the
most recent brood of grandchildren from pulling out strips of nitrate
film to burn as fire-sparklers. One of the Vankudre brothers
nostalgically recalled that these trunks had once been a ready source of
fireworks for their entertainment.
But how had DG Vankudre—producer and founder of Samrat Cinetone—allowed
this to happen? What had happened to his enthusiasm for cinema that he
later turned away from it completely? His belief in the commercial
viability of the re-issued Painter silents seems to have been, shall we
say, somewhat misplaced. Moreover, the failure of his very first talkie,
a mythological called Nagananda (1935)—about the legendary foes, snakes
and eagles—had sealed his distaste for motion pictures. Taken together,
these misadventures had constituted a great financial loss for this
small merchant-cum-businessman. One of his sons informed us that after
this misfortune he gathered his entire family and made them vow that
they would never again have anything to do with the movie business.
Films were a taboo for the Vankudres until the demise of the
disillusioned head of the family.
After some negotiations about compensation and the mode of payment, we
loaded the trunks into a van and had them carefully driven back to Pune
through the flooded landscape.
Was Painter’s Savkari Pash in that hoard? One will never know. Most of
the reels had decomposed and a large number could not be identified. The
footage that could be salvaged by painstaking frame-by-frame printing
by KPR Nair, the archive’s restoration consultant, was badly damaged and
scratched. However, more than 4,000 feet of Muralivala (1927)—Painter’s
version of Phalke’s Kaliya Mardan (1919)—could be saved, along with
portions from two of his other silent films, Maya Bazar (1925) and Sati
Savitri (1927).
As I began to study the salvaged reels, they revealed a distinct and
different elaboration of the mythological genre as compared to the work
of the more famous DG Phalke. Painter’s mythological films were more
anecdotal, and delved into the philosophical underpinnings of the
stories, thus anticipating an important feature of this genre in the
early sound period. As a bonus, good copies of both the Marathi and
Hindi versions of Nagananda were found.
While the films awaited further restoration and presentation during the
1995-96 Cinema Centenary celebrations, one reel from Muralivala was
screened at the NFAI theatre. In the auditorium was a special
invitee—Lalji Gokhale—who had acted as a nine-year-old Shri Krishna in
the film. In the reel he briefly appeared in his avatar as Krishna,
hovering underwater and playing the flute. A senior music teacher and
tabla player today, it was a moving experience for the invited audience
to see the child and the man reunited after nearly seventy years.
Against all odds, cinema had once again bestowed upon us the miracle of
crossing the barriers of space and time, past and present.
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- Kalyan Khajina1924 Film
- Initial release: 1924
- Genres: Adventure Film, Silent film
Kalyan Khajina (1924) - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0249641/
Quasi-historical adventure movie based on the exploits of the 17th C. Maratha emperor Shivaji (Bhosle). A large part of the film is shot in a cave where where .
Director:
Baburao Painter
Cast
| Cast overview: | |||
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Chimasaheb Bhosle | ... | |
| |
K.P. Bhave | ... |
Subedar of Kalyan
|
| |
Sultana | ... |
A fair maiden
|
| |
Master Vithal | ... |
Dancing Girl
|
| |
Kamaladevi | ||
| |
Miss Nalini | ||
| |
Vedi | ... |
(as Bedi)
|
| |
Zunzharrao Pawar | ||
| |
Baburao Painter | ||
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Storyline
Quasi-historical adventure movie based on the exploits of the 17th C.
Maratha emperor Shivaji (Bhosle). A large part of the film is shot in a
cave where where Shivaji meets the Subedar of Kalyan (Bhave). The film's
dramatic highlight occurs when, inspecting stolen Mughal wealth,
Shivaji suddenly confronts a fair maiden (Sultana) emerging from one of
the crates full of treasure. Written by
Sujit R. Varma
Plot Summary
|
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Genres:
AdventureCountry:
IndiaRelease Date:
1924 (India) See more »Also Known As:
The Treasures of Kalyan See more »Company Credits
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